A view of the site of the Bear River Massacre near Preston, Idaho. (K. Cannon/USU Archaeological Services)

(Newser)
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By the end of that frigid day in January 1863, the blood of at least 250 men, women, and children stained the ground in Idaho. But rather than occupying a dark place in American history, the victims of the nation's single largest Native American massacre—Shoshone Indians slaughtered in a daytime raid by United States cavalry—have largely been forgotten. Few know the story of the Bear River Massacre, reports the Herald Journal, and no one knows precisely where it took place, leading the Idaho State Historical Society to commission the first survey of the area just north of Preston in hopes of learning more. Since August of last year, archaeologists have employed three historic maps as well as geophysical and excavation techniques to pinpoint the exact site and the Shoshone village, and they hope to erect plaques to commemorate the battlefield when they do.

"Nobody knows about these events. They've been lost, and yet they're incredibly important," one of the lead archaeologists tells Western Digs. "The Shoshone probably ran out of ammunition, and they were overwhelmed by the California Volunteers." The four-hour battle also claimed the lives of 23 soldiers. Witnesses described watching Shoshone flee into the frozen Bear River, where some drowned and others froze, while a baby was reportedly found the next day alive, perched high in a tree, in what looked to be a bid to protect it. So far a magnetic gradiometer has found a large, black square, "suggestive of what a house floor might look like," one archaeologist says. That site will be excavated next month, in concert with the Shoshone people; the results will be made public in November or December. (Meanwhile, the mystery of Roanoke Island may finally have been solved.)

"When a white army battles Indians and wins, it is called a great victory, but if they lose it is called a massacre." - Chiksika, Shawnee Shawnee

David

Sep 22, 2015 1:00 PM CDT

In the 1599 "battle of Acoma" - the 1,000 year-old Sky City in New Mexico - an estimated 800 men, women, and children were massacred. Many survivors were enslaved, some having their hands or feet amputated. In the 1870 Marias Massacre in Montana Territory, a peaceful group of Piegan Blackfeet was murdered in cold blood by the US Army. Soldiers estimated they killed 173 people, who were all women, children and the elderly, since able-bodied men were out hunting. Over just 5 years, 1870-1875, the Comanches in Texas were subjected to a series of attacks by the US Army, reducing their numbers from about 5,000 to just 1,500. And the list goes on, as noted by other commenters. Some people mention that to cite these events is to indulge in "white guilt" or some form of political correctness. But they really happened, and they undeniably form part of our collective history. It would be wrong to feel guilty about what people did generations ago, but it would also be wrong to erase the pages of our history which make us feel uncomfortable.